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Flight Design will open production facilities in the U.S. and China in the next couple of years as it broadens its product line and market reach. At a news conference at AirVenture 2013, CEO Matthias Betsch confirmed the company, which now produces aircraft in the Ukraine, will open a U.S. final assembly and component plant in Windham, Conn. It will also partner with a Taiwanese company to open facilities in China. The U.S. plant will build both the Light Sport CT line of two-place aircraft and the new C4 certified four-place model.

Tom Pegigny, the U.S. distributor for the aircraft, said the Light Sport aircraft have about 35 percent U.S. content, by value. The C-4, with its Continental engine, Garmin avionics and other gear, will be about 50 percent American by value. "It's just good business to incorporate the best products from all over the world," Pegigny said. The company also announced that the C4 will incorporate a "safety box" to enhance crashworthiness. The protective shell for the cockpit and cabin will include energy-absorbing structures and materials along with advanced restraint systems.